Art of Cycling

Art of Cycling

A hot summer's day on Box Hill in late June sees all sorts riding bikes out on the Zig Zag Road. Most are cycling up in ones and twos with the occasional small group all doing their best to climb the hill at a respectable speed. In amongst them, one rider stands out, his demeanour is that of a professional cyclist, low profile bike, full carbon setup including aero bars, immaculate kit, rock-solid in the saddle with a high cadence, he is powering up the climb. Not just once or twice, this picture captures him going down for the fifth time of asking and he hadn't finished yet.

davidt photography as art

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Cycling Box Hill

Cycling Box Hill

Box Hill lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The north and south facing slopes support an area of chalk downland, noted for its orchids and other rare plant species and provides a habitat for 40 species of butterfly

In addition to the beautiful countryside, you have a tarmac road which is silky smooth, a constant gradient with not a pothole to be seen. Consequently, other rare species have appeared can also be found, cycling up and down the hill on cutting-edge machines made of carbon and steel. Dressed in brightly coloured, futuristic, figure-hugging outfits, and that's just the guys. Box Hill is one place they are now often found in quite large numbers. But don't pay them any mind, they are a new kind of people, an evolution of the species, and they come here to play.

davidt photography as art

Find the Rhythm

Find the Rhythm

Finding the rhythm on any long climb such as Box Hill enables a bike rider to judge and monitor the energy and effort required to cycle to the top of the climb as quickly and efficiently as possible. The cycling rhythm is a combination of bike speed, cadence and remaining energy levels, or to put it another way, doing what you can with what you have left in the tank.

Not that you would consider Box Hill a long climb in cycling terms, far from it. But if you get it wrong, if you don't take the time to find the rhythm it has a way of finding you out.

davidt photography as art

Leader on the Road

Leader on the Road

As any road racing cycling fan will tell you that the 'Leader on the Road' is a situation during a cycling stage race whereby a rider has got so far in front of the rest of the field that if the race finished at that point in the race, they would top the general classification overall. Of course, the riders behind are going to do whatever it takes to rectify the situation in the remainder of the days racing, but it's still a nice place to be.